Custom framer Kathryn Bailey joins International Moulding

They both thrive on working with people and delight in providing the very best of customer service.

And, perhaps most importantly, they agree on Bailey’s belief that, “Custom framing is not just a profession, it is a passion. When it’s done correctly, and the customer is delighted, that is a very special, very fulfilling experience.”

Beginning at some point in August, the pair will be working together again.

Bailey will be closing her shop, Kathryn’s Custom Framing, located in the heart of downtown Morganton at 132 W. Union St. She has already stopped taking new orders but does have a bit of a backlog to finish.

When that is accomplished, she will join the retail staff at the Morganton location of International Moulding — which a lot of local folks still refer to as G. and G. Framed Art — where Whisnant serves as general manager.

KATHRYN’S STORY

A native of Iowa, Bailey discovered her passion for framing at an early age.

“I framed my first piece at age 16,” she remembered. “I had an instant love for it, and I knew that I had a knack for it.”

Bailey moved to Morganton in 1982 and went to work at Masterpiece Framing, staying there until it closed.

She then opened her own business — Kathryn’s Custom Framing — which relocated to its current address back in 2017.

During those years, Bailey said, she became known for her creativity and her ability to work with customers to design and produce exactly what they wanted.

“I loved to do shadow boxes,” she said. “I would tackle any project from the simple framing of a diploma to a family gallery wall of memories.”

So why close a shop that has brought her so much fulfillment?

“Life,” she responds whimsically. “Life and aging and family responsibilities. I ran a one-woman shop. I was responsible for the whole show. That becomes very problematic when life gets in the way.”

But walking away from her shop does not mean walking away from her calling. Instead, she will be transitioning into membership with the International Moulding retail team.

A NEW PARTNERSHIP

“We are so excited that Kathy is going to be coming aboard here,” said Whisnant, who has been listening while Bailey described the stress that goes with owning a business and being its sole employee.

“Here,” Whisnant said, “Kathy will be able to go home at the end of the day and not have to worry about all the pressures she has been dealing with.”

“The timing is perfect,” Bailey added. “We are long-time friends, and we share the passion for what we are doing.”

Whisnant explained that G. and G. Art and Frame was born when Masterpiece closed and two brothers, Don and Gene Grigg, decided to launch their own business.

G. and G. opened in July of 1988 with its retail operation in Drexel in the building now occupied by Mimosa Market. The business moved to its current location at 901 N. Green St. in Morganton in 1992, taking over what had been a Lowe’s hardware store.

The business was acquired by International Moulding, a national company with 17 locations around the country in 2014. Whisnant was named general manager of the Morganton operation in 2015 and is responsible for supervising its 28-person staff.

Most of the location’s business is in the wholesale trade — “We have a couple of million-dollar customers,” Whisnant said — and the company had an exclusive relationship with Shutterfly for a number of years.

“Something’s that interesting,” Whisnant said, “is that there are four frame shops in North Carolina who do not employ a framer. They take the orders, but we do the actual work.”

THE LOCAL CONNECTION

Whisnant added that although the walk-in framing customers constitute a small percentage of the company’s business, he believes it is important to keep that local connection alive.

“It’s important that folks can still walk through that front door, tell us what they want, and be confident that we can do it for them,” he said. “And Kathy will be a very important part of that team.”

Bailey said she will be working full time when her transition to the team is complete. “I simply feel so very blessed to have this opportunity to continue in the business I love.”

“We call ourselves ‘The Biggest Little Frame Shop’ in the South,” Whisnant concluded. “And we’re glad Kathy will be here to help us continue that tradition.”